If you’re thinking about encouraging your child to try Your Direction, you might already know the biggest challenge: teenagers don’t always follow what their parents suggest! Even when you’re offering something helpful, it can feel like whatever you suggest gets dismissed. So how do you actually get them to give the course a chance?
First, it helps to know what Your Direction is and isn’t. It’s not another boring lecture from adults, this is bringing young people to meet other young people experiencing the same difficult things. The content is shaped and designed by young people, to give them space to explore how they’re feeling when their parents split up. It uses videos, stories, and interactive exercises that feel relevant, not like schoolwork more like chatting with a friend.
That’s important, because for most children and teens, the hardest part of family separation is not having anywhere they feel comfortable opening up.
So, how do you introduce it without turning it into “just another thing Mum or Dad is making me do”? Here are a few ideas:
- Start with curiosity, not pressure. Instead of saying, “You need to do this,” try, “I found something other young people have made about what it’s like when parents separate — want to look at it together?” That way, it feels like an invitation, not an instruction.
- Let them take the lead. Teenagers value independence. Show them the website, and the Instagram (yourdirection.UK) maybe highlight a video or story, then step back and give them space to explore on their own.
- Acknowledge their feelings. It helps to be real about why the course exists: “Lots of young people say they didn’t realise they needed to talk about this stuff, so Your Direction gives you a space that’s just for you.”
- Make it clear it’s just for them. Some children might feel more comfortable if they know they won’t have to tell you about it afterwards. Make it clear that you want to give them space and privacy to speak to others without you being there.
- Make it about others. Lots of young people are willing to help others before they accept help for themselves. Explain that by joining the workshop they would be helping the other young people in their group by sharing their own experience. Once they have done the workshop there are even opportunities for them to volunteer with us
The most important thing isn’t whether they complete every module straight away — it’s that they know support is there, and that you see what they’re going through. Even introducing Your Direction gently shows them you care about how they’re feeling, not just about “moving on.”
At the end of the day, you can’t force a teenager to engage. But by showing them Your Direction as a tool made for them, not for you, you give them the chance to take ownership of their feelings — and that’s where real change starts.